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What did Jesus mean when He said this?
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls
Hi M,
All in the body of Christ have a role appointed to them.
That is the role they should find and fulfill.Hi M,
1Cor12
14For the body is not one member, but many.15If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
16And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
17If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
18But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
19And if they were all one member, where were the body?
20But now are they many members, yet but one body.
21And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
22Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
23And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
24For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked.
So toes should not try to be eyes and ears should not try to feel.
Neither should we try to be all things to all men going beyond our appointed function.
That just wears us out and shows we have no faith in God to work through others in the Body.Quote (Nick Hassan @ Jan. 12 2009,07:27) Hi M,
All in the body of Christ have a role appointed to them.
That is the role they should find and fulfill.
That could be an application, but is not accurate to the verse.Hi M,
Mt11
28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Why does this not apply?
Those who come to Christ are given a yoke.Nick……….you have not defined what the yoke is. Please give us you definition of what that yoke is.
thanks……………..gene
Concerning the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus Christ said:
“They bind up heavy loads and put them upon the shoulders of men, but they themselves are not willing to budge them with their finger.” (Mt 23:4)
Hence, from a spiritual viewpoint, the common people especially were “loaded down.” So Jesus could say:
“Come to me, all you who are toiling and loaded down, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am mild-tempered and lowly in heart, and you will find refreshment for your souls. For my yoke is kindly and my load is light.” (Mt 11:28-30)
Basically, a yoke is a long wooden beam with two recessed areas on the underside to fit over the necks of a pair of draft animals, usually oxen, to harness them together to pull a plow, a cart, or some other load. (1 Samuel 6:7) Yokes for humans were also used. These were simple beams or poles carried across the shoulders with a load attached to each end. With them, laborers were able to carry heavy loads. (Jeremiah 27:2; 28:10, 13) From its association with burdens and labor, the yoke is often used figuratively in the Bible to symbolize domination and control.—Deuteronomy 28:48; 1 Kings 12:4; Acts 15:10.
Back then, a common man might have felt as though he were working under a yoke. From ancient times, the yoke had been illustrative of slavery or servitude. (Genesis 27:40; Leviticus 26:13)However, Christ's “yoke is kindly and my load is light.”
Many of the day laborers whom Jesus met worked with an actual yoke on their shoulders, carrying heavy burdens. Depending on how a yoke was fashioned, it could be easy on the neck and shoulders or it could chafe. As a carpenter, Jesus may have made yokes, and he would have known how to shape one that was “kindly.” Perhaps he lined the contact points with leather or cloth to make the yoke as comfortable as possible.
When Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you,” he could have been likening himself to one who provided well-made yokes that would be “kindly” to a workman’s neck and shoulders. Thus, Jesus added: “My load is light.” This signified that the yoke bar was not unpleasant to use, and the work was not slavish either. Granted, by inviting his listeners to accept his yoke, Jesus was not offering immediate relief from all oppressive conditions then current. Still, the change of viewpoint he presented would bring considerable refreshment. Adjustments in their life-style and way of doing things would relieve them too. More to the point, a clear and solid hope would help them find life less stressful.
A key application of Jesus’ illustration of the yoke became apparent regarding the disciple-making work. There is no doubt that Jesus’ main activity was that of teaching others, with the emphasis being on God’s Kingdom. (Matthew 4:23) So when he said, “Take my yoke upon you,” that would certainly have involved following after him in that same activity.
1 CORINTHIANS 11:1
“Become imitators of me, even as I am of Christ.”1 PETER 2:21
“In fact, to this [course] YOU were called, because even Christ suffered for YOU, leaving YOU a model for YOU to follow his steps closely.”Hi,
The yoke is that which enables the energies of beasts to be managed and become useful to their masters. The same goes for human service of one man to another as under authority and also even service to the OT law.Jesus wishes men to available to him to serve the Gardener in his vine. Those branches are only useful if they submit to the vine and allow the sap of the Spirit to produce fruit suitable to God. Thus they need to find their appointed roles and let that light yoke sit on their shoulders while the grace of God works through them.
Genesis 27:40
“By your sword you shall live,And your brother you shall serve;But it shall come about when you become restless,That you will break his yoke from your neck.”Leviticus 26:13
' I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves, and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.Numbers 19:2
“This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying, 'Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which is no defect and on which a yoke has never been placed.Jeremiah 28:14
'For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they will serve him And I have also given him the beasts of the field.”'”Acts 15:10
“Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?Galatians 5:1
[ Walk by the Spirit ] It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.Hosea 10:11
Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh,But I will come over her fair neck with a yoke;I will harness Ephraim,Judah will plow, Jacob will harrow for himself.To all……….Why did Jesus say take (MY) yoke upon you. A yoke was made for two oven , there was always was a lead oxen who carried more of the load, and it also showed the other oxen what to do by leading it , (learn from me) This could be what was meant by this, or it could be GOD Himself talking first person through Jesus. Remember GOD was in Christ and there are other Scriptures where this happened, like when, Jesus uttered< destory this temple and in three days I shall raise it up. That was God speaking first person through Christ, GOD considers our bodies temples He can Dwell in. IMO
peace and love to you all………………….gene
GB,
Yokes can be of slavery and oppression, of relationships, even marriage-be not yoked with unbelievers.
Be yoked with the vine.
Cling to his message ahead of any man's.Nick…….yes marriage is considered a yoke also, it can be one that eases the burdens of life or one that adds to them. Depends on who your yoked with.
, but a yoke is made for two. There is also an interesting thing about yoking of oxen, some times one of the oxen will stiffen His Nick no, i mean Neck, pun intended , because it doesn't want to be worked together, so it resist the yoke. GOD called the Israelites stiff necked . This was referring to the oxen who would stiffen their necks when they were trying to be yoked together. Israel did not want to be yokes with GOD, hence “stiff necked Israelites.” We should all want to be yoked with GOD and Jesus. peace and love to you and yours……………….gene
GB,
The yoke is a fast working discipline that causes pain to one who is new to the ways of authority but an animal soon learns to cooperate with it's fellow servants because of the dioscomfort it suffers iof it does not. We are to accept the yoke of Jesus which means his authority and his teachings and not to try to work separate from the Lordship of Jesus and his foundational doctrines. Trying to be yoked with God is not possible without submission to Jesus.What did Jesus mean when He said this?
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls
Since this verse is in Matthew and Matthew was originally written in Hebrew we must look at Hebrew scriptures and culture for like concepts.
To completely understand this verse it must be seen from within the Hebrew culture. The Hebrews saw their world (and even God) in relationship to their natural world. In the ancient Hebrew pictographs the first letter representing God is a oxen head depicting the strength of God as seen in the strength of the animal.
One of the key words translated “teach” in the OT is “alaph” which is closely related to the word “eleph” (oxen). Aleph means to yoke together.
When using oxen in the field an older more experienced ox was yoked together with a tounger ox. In this way the younger would learn by exmple from the more experienced ox. Because of this understanding the word eleph “to associate with” or “learn by example”.
In the above verse Jesus is instructing us to use his life and His yoking with the Father as an example of how we are to learn. This is why he said he did nothing but what he saw the father doing. He learned from the senior elder oxen, His father.
Men, women, children all learn from the examples they are yoked to. I do not believe scripture refering to being not yoked together with an unbeliever is speaking of not learning from the unbeliever.
Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: Lest thou learn [alaph] his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.?(Proverbs 22:24,25)Quote (martian @ Jan. 13 2009,06:16) What did Jesus mean when He said this? Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls
Since this verse is in Matthew and Matthew was originally written in Hebrew we must look at Hebrew scriptures and culture for like concepts.
To completely understand this verse it must be seen from within the Hebrew culture. The Hebrews saw their world (and even God) in relationship to their natural world. In the ancient Hebrew pictographs the first letter representing God is a oxen head depicting the strength of God as seen in the strength of the animal.
One of the key words translated “teach” in the OT is “alaph” which is closely related to the word “eleph” (oxen). Aleph means to yoke together.
When using oxen in the field an older more experienced ox was yoked together with a tounger ox. In this way the younger would learn by exmple from the more experienced ox. Because of this understanding the word eleph “to associate with” or “learn by example”.
In the above verse Jesus is instructing us to use his life and His yoking with the Father as an example of how we are to learn. This is why he said he did nothing but what he saw the father doing. He learned from the senior elder oxen, His father.
Men, women, children all learn from the examples they are yoked to. I do not believe scripture refering to being not yoked together with an unbeliever is speaking of not learning from the unbeliever.
Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: Lest thou learn [alaph] his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.?(Proverbs 22:24,25)
Hi Martian:Thanks. Jesus is our example.
Quote Phl 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Phl 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Phl 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Phl 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the crossQuote (Gene Balthrop @ Jan. 13 2009,13:57) meerkat……..I agree with your post. Good post. peace and love to you……………….gene
Were yopu meaning martian instead of meekrat? I did not see a post by meekrat?martian………..yes i believe your post is what Jesus really meant brother. Sorry meerkat
love and peace to you and yours…………………..gene
Quote (martian @ Jan. 13 2009,08:16) What did Jesus mean when He said this? Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls
Since this verse is in Matthew and Matthew was originally written in Hebrew we must look at Hebrew scriptures and culture for like concepts.
To completely understand this verse it must be seen from within the Hebrew culture. The Hebrews saw their world (and even God) in relationship to their natural world. In the ancient Hebrew pictographs the first letter representing God is a oxen head depicting the strength of God as seen in the strength of the animal.
One of the key words translated “teach” in the OT is “alaph” which is closely related to the word “eleph” (oxen). Aleph means to yoke together.
When using oxen in the field an older more experienced ox was yoked together with a tounger ox. In this way the younger would learn by exmple from the more experienced ox. Because of this understanding the word eleph “to associate with” or “learn by example”.
In the above verse Jesus is instructing us to use his life and His yoking with the Father as an example of how we are to learn. This is why he said he did nothing but what he saw the father doing. He learned from the senior elder oxen, His father.
Men, women, children all learn from the examples they are yoked to. I do not believe scripture refering to being not yoked together with an unbeliever is speaking of not learning from the unbeliever.
Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: Lest thou learn [alaph] his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.?(Proverbs 22:24,25)
Martian,Missed this post before …… and I agree with Gene …. good post.
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